A defense minister has confirmed that the MoD is actively investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been instructed to refrain from talking about secret matters in any cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD officials have been told not to talk about secret material while travelling in China-made cars.
He explained that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a issue in all modern vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any car, because of the growing risks of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
The revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The broader defence environment highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in all areas of official operations, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.
